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Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities northeast of Moscow that has played an important role in Russian history. It is a large transport node, and a great number of important national and regional roads, railways, and waterways pass through the city. In fact many of the roads that connect Yaroslavl to Moscow and beyond are two-lane highways. If taken by its date of first foundation, Yaroslavl is the oldest of all the currently existing towns on the Volga. Yaroslavl was founded by a prince of Kievan Rus Yaroslav the Wise during the period of his ruling the Principality of Rostov (988—1010) when he stepped ashore for the first time near the area now known as 'Strelka', a favorite contemporary park. On this spot which was well protected from attack by the high, steep banks of the Volga, Kotorosl and Medveditsa Rivers, Yaroslavl and his men began to set about building the first Yaroslavl Kremlin. The first recorded event of Yaroslavl occurred as a result of famine, it was recorded as the Rostov Uprising of 1071. The name of the city is traditionally linked to that of its founder: Yaroslav.

Yaroslav I, Grand Prince of Rus', known as Yaroslav the Wise or Iaroslav the Wise was thrice Grand Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. He was vice-regent of Novgorod at the time of his father’s death in 1015. Subsequently, his eldest surviving brother, Svyatopolk the Accursed, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Yaroslav, with the active support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian mercenaries, defeated Svyatopolk and became the Grand Prince of Kiev in 1019. Under Yaroslav the codification of legal customs and princely enactments was begun, and this work served as the basis for a law code called the Russkaya Pravda ("Rus Truth [Law]"). During his lengthy reign, Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural flowering and military power. The main statue of Yaroslav the Wise stands on Bogoyavlyenskaya (Epiphany) Square on one side of which is the main Post Office.